Let’s explore the distinctions and why it’s important to teach children the art of becoming a skeptic.

A cynic distrusts most information they see or hear, particularly when it challenges their own belief system. Most often, cynics hold views that cannot be changed by contrary evidence. Thus, they often become intolerant of other people’s ideas. It’s not difficult to find cynics everywhere in our society, from the halls of Congress to our own family dinner tables.

Skepticism, on the other hand, is a key part of critical thinking – a goal of education. The term skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos, meaning “to inquire” or “look around.” A skeptic requires additional evidence before accepting someone’s claims as true. They are willing to challenge the status quo with open-minded, deep questioning.

In today’s complex world, skeptics and cynics are often hard to differentiate. While the ability to challenge human authority has led to important innovation and reform, it has also made it possible, for a price, to prove our “rightness.” Oftentimes, what appear to be legitimate studies are manipulated to support a particular idea or outcome that a company, individual, or government believes is the truth.

Aristotle and Steve Jobs were Skeptics

In the late 1500’s, everyone believed Aristotle’s claim that heavy objects fell faster than light ones. That is, everyone except Galileo. To test Aristotle’s claim, Galileo dropped two balls of differing weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And guess what? They both hit the ground at the same time! For challenging Aristotle’s authority, Galileo was fired from his job. But for his place in history, he showed us that testing human claims should be the mediator of all truth.

Fast forward to modern times. Challenging commonly held assumptions about computers and human behavior, Steve Jobs lost his job with Apple in 1985. Returning twelve years later, he changed the way people use technology by testing the truth of other people’s claims. As a result, history considers Jobs one of the most innovative minds of the 21^st century.

Galileo and Jobs were skeptics. They had developed habits of thinking that challenged what appeared to be reliable facts.  They understood that testing assumptions over human authority led to greater understanding, innovation, and creativity.

If we model skepticism instead of cynicism, our children will inherit a world less dependent on power and authority and more dependent on critical thinking and ethical reasoning. Adolescents and young adults will be capable of questioning the reliability of what they think or hear. They will learn to believe in their natural abilities to facilitate positive change through intellectual inquiry. They will become discerning consumers of ideas rather than passive accepters of other people’s visions of certainty.

Five Ways to Model Positive Skepticism

How we adults model the tools of skepticism not only helps us make better informed decisions but also shows our children how to think for themselves. And, if kids learn to think for themselves, they learn to believe in themselves!

1. Be a Deception-Detector

People constantly make claims that affect our daily lives. From those selling products and services to candidates running for political offices, we are barraged with decisions that require us to act.  Thomas Kida, in his book Don’t Believe Everything You Think, shows how easily we can be fooled and why we should learn to think like a scientist.

Challenge claims by asking for evidence. Ask questions like, “What makes you think this way?” “What assumptions have you based your claim upon?” “What facts or research support your ideas?” “Are there facts or studies that dispute your claim?”

2. Doubt

Constant streams of commercial messages, TV news, and campaign ads try to tell us how to think. When we allow others to think for us, we become vulnerable to indoctrination, propaganda, and powerful emotional appeals. In her book, Descartes’s Method of Doubt, Janet Broughton examined the important role that doubt plays in our quest for truth.

Recognize the limits to anyone’s claims of truth! Look below the surface rather than accepting ideas at face value. Ask yourself questions like, “What is the logic of this argument?” Listen to yourself when something doesn’t feel right!

3. Play Devil’s Advocate

Part of being a good skeptic is learning to play a devil’s advocate role. Take a position you don’t necessarily agree with, just for the sake of argument. This doesn’t have to be combative. You can simply say “In order to understand this idea better; let me play the devil’s advocate.” Putting your mind to work poking holes in what you think might be a good idea can lead to greater understanding of a problem. Playing devil’s advocate is a great way to teach children how to see another person’s perspective.

4. Use Logic and Intuition

We are persuaded to doubt or believe other people’s claims through logic and intuition, and most of us tend to rely heavily on one type of thinking or the other. Whether you are a logical or intuitive thinker, it’s helpful to alternate between these two qualities of mind. In his book, Embracing Contraries, Peter Elbow says, “Doubting and believing are among the most powerful root acts we can perform with our minds.” We become better thinkers when we deploy doubting and believing more consciously through the use of logic and intuition rather than by chance.

5. Be a Bias-Detector

One of the most important tasks of a true skeptic is to determine whether sources of information and analysis are impartial. This is a trait that serves us well when we turn on the television. If we only listen to one channel, or our favorite news commentator, we’ll likely be persuaded by biased or emotional appeals. Ask yourself, “What’s the other side of this story?” “Is this one person’s story or does it apply to thousands of people? “Is there an underlying belief or assumption being made that reflects this reporter’s ideology?”

R.M. Dawes’ points out in his book, Everyday Irrationality: How Pseudo-Scientists, Lunatics, and the Rest of Us Systematically Fail to Think Rationally, that emotional appeals and story-based thinking often lead to faulty reasoning. The point in detecting bias is to be able to identify messages that are intended to persuade rather than inform us.

Positive skepticism leads to better problem-solving, innovation, and creativity! It also helps develop our abilities to think critically about the world around us! Do you agree? Feel free to poke some holes in my thinking!

[Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell is a developmental psychologist who writes at the intersection of positive youth development, leadership, education, and civic engagement. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or at Psychology Today]

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

When we think of scholars like Socrates, Einstein, or Aristotle, we are reminded of great learners and their eternal quest for knowledge. But how do we develop that quest in children and teens – the drive that propels them to embrace the practice of learning throughout their lives?

Thanks to research in neuroscience and human development, scientists can now explain how learning happens from cradle to grave.  It turns out that lifelong learning is a natural part of being alive.

But some people are more open to learning throughout their lives than others. They seek out and respond to experiences in ways that challenge their minds, hearts, and bodies.  It is as though learning flows through them like blood through veins.

Becoming a seeker of lifelong learning is critical in today’s fast-changing world. Learning is not only a matter of absorbing information but a process of developing many other internal skills, like curiosity, perseverance, and the ability to tackle tough challenges.

The thirst for lifelong learning is natural to the human species. Unfortunately, by fourth grade, education can lessen the desire to learn for many children.  Jay Trevaskis, a teacher in Sydney, Australia, provides an illuminating example of how education can diminish enthusiasm and curiosity in his article, How School Can Kill the Desire to Learn.  While there are no easy answers to this dilemma, we need to find better ways to prepare young people for the lifelong learning process.

All too often, we focus on how well children are taught rather than on how well they learn.  Many young people have survived poor educations because they discovered what it meant to learn. They discovered that learning happens on the inside, that grades cannot measure true learning.

As children develop toward adolescence changes occur in the brain that heightens their abilities to learn. Teens become capable of thinking more critically, solving more complex problems, and weighing difficult decisions. But in order to utilize these new abilities for lifelong learning teens must be internally motivated. They must learn because it feels good, not just because they want to get accepted at a good college. The preparation for lifelong learning starts at a young age.

Below are six quotes from people who understood the value and complexity of lifelong learning.  Their wisdom has remained relevant through the ages.

Lifelong Learning Quotes

“It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.” – Albert Einstein 

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin 

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” – Socrates

“We learn from failure, not from success!” – Bram Stoker 

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” – Leo Buscaglia 

“Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain.” – Aristotle 

Three Ways to Prepare Children for Lifelong Learning

1. Ask Questions

Learning is facilitated through the kind of questioning described by teacher Jay Trevaskis in the article mentioned above. Rather than giving answers, adults help children become lifelong learners by helping them identify questions that pique their curiosity. When we help young people make associations between what they are studying at school and the world outside of the classroom, they learn that everything in the universe is connected, that lifelong learning is an endless process.

2. Let Them Fail

Most adults know that learning occurs when we are willing to risk failure. But with today’s focus on high-stakes testing, many parents feel the need to protect their children and teens from setbacks and failure.

Middle school teacher Jessica Lahey wrote about the fallacy of this type of thinking in her recent article at The Atlantic, Why Parents Need to Let Their Children Fail. Her wise words, “This setback will be the best thing that ever happened to your child,” is a concept supported by research over and over again.

With caring and encouragement, adults can help young people use mistakes and failures to facilitate lifelong learning. Like Aristotle believed, there is often pain involved. And that’s a good thing. For ten parenting guidelines that help kids learn from mistakes, check out my article at Psychology Today, Mistakes Improve Children’s Learning.

3. Give them Experiences

Learning through experience, not just from books, is one of the best ways to give youth the skills they need for lifelong learning, living, and working in the 21st century. Particularly in the teen years, service-learning provides experiences that nurture critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to see the world as an interconnected community.  We prepare children for positive service-learning experiences in elementary school, through projects that involve them in their communities.

The next time you think about how you can help educate the next generation, ask yourself a question. How can I help facilitate a child’s lifelong learning?

[Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell is a developmental psychologist who writes at the intersection of positive youth development, leadership, education, and civic engagement. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or her blog at Psychology Today]

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Do you parent, teach, or mentor a child with special needs? Of course you do!

As you know, the term special needs is most often associated with disabilities. It usually refers to a child who needs special assistance or accommodations for medical, psychological, or learning deficits.

But have we allowed the term special needs to create a cloud of darkness over children? Don’t all children have special needs? And can’t those special needs be sources of light and wisdom?

I raised a child with special needs, a daughter who was diagnosed with learning disabilities and ADHD. Of course, we gave her additional support and taught her how to advocate for her differences. But what most struck me from a developmental perspective was how much my daughter’s special needs were just like all of her peers.

The truth is that all children have special needs as they journey through childhood and adolescence. They feel awkward and different at times, insecure, and challenged by situations beyond their controls.

Having special needs is not a deficit – it is what makes us different from everyone else in the world! My colleague, Rick Ackerly, brought home a similar point in his recent article, Social Anxiety Disorder v Ashley. Parents and teachers often want to diagnose special needs so that they can figure out a plan to fix the child. But do kids really need to be fixed?

What if we approached children’s special needs differently? What if we asked how we could bring out the highest and best in children from the inside out rather than driving results from the outside, with a focus on deficits and adult authority?

Being Servant Leaders to our Children

To understand how we best serve children’s special needs, let me regress with a bit of leadership theory.

In 1977, Robert Greenleaf charted new territory with his book, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness.

Since then, the concept of servant leadership – developing employees from the inside out — has taken hold in hundreds of companies worldwide. Why? Because we know that developing the highest and best in adults not only contributes to their individual success and well-being but also contributes to the success and profitability of companies.

Great leadership involves facilitating the personal development of others – whether we are leaders of adults or children. Being a servant leader as conceived by Greenleaf involves leading without exercising power over those led. It is linked to positive human development. This dance between power and service is best demonstrated in our collaborative abilities to solve problems and adapt to change.

Ironically, in recent resarch with adolescents, I found that the same qualities possessed by Greenleaf’s servant leaders were also those described by teens when they talked about parents, teachers, and mentors who had influenced their lives in positive ways.

When these adolescents talked about their special needs and challenges, they said their lives were transformed by those who stood along side of them – their families, teachers, and mentors. These adults  instilled moral values, scaffolded kid’s problem solving abilities, and encouraged them to think for themselves.

My articles, Teachers Change Lives through Mentoring & Service Learning and What is a Role Model? Five Qualities that Matter to Young People further exemplify the qualities of servant leaders to children and teens.

Sometimes we are servants to children in negative ways, like when we overindulge their every need. But put in the context of Greenleaf’s servant leadership theory, the more we serve children by instilling values and helping them think for themselves, the greater their growth and development.

Six Students Share How Adults Supported their Special Needs

There is no better way to express how we become servant leaders to children than to share a few quotes from the teens I interviewed. Listen to their words and wisdom as they describe the adults who brought out the best in them, from the inside out.

Melinda: “Getting support from somebody who isn’t your parents is very touching. She had no obligation to listen to me, and yet she still did.  It gives you kind of a strength in a way that your parents really can’t give you.”

Ryan: “He encouraged me to keep writing, to channel my emotions into some form of media, rather than keeping them bottled inside of me and being upset about things.”

Byron: “He was always there to help when I needed him.  It wasn’t him telling me what I should do…he was just there to keep me going which I thought was very important because I knew that I could pull stuff together.  It’s just nice having someone there all the time to let you know.”

Victor: “He helped me see the success of an event isn’t just measured by one thing. After everything started going not quite the way I had planned, he was able to step in and let me know that it was alright.”

Ashley: “These two teachers were right alongside me. I could go to them and talk about anything, any difficulties. I talked to them about everything. It was like my possibilities were endless for whatever I wanted to do in the world.”

Danielle: “My father wouldn’t try to tell me what to do. He would instead just be thoughtful and quiet and then he would remind me who I was. He showed that he had faith in me and he knew that I would make a good choice.”

When we are servant leaders to children and teens, they grow up to be servant leaders in their businesses and communities. They know how to respond to the special needs of others and to develop people from the inside out.  How did they cultivate these skills? They were raised and nurtured by servant leaders!

Ask a child you know how they would describe the adults who bring out the best in them? I’d love to hear their responses!

[Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell writes at the intersection of positive youth development, education, and civic engagement. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or her blog at Psychology Today]

Photo Credits: Ambro; Photostock

I’ll be the first to admit my own bias, particularly against violent games.

As I’ve watched my grandchildren play video games on smartphones and iPads, I’ve often wondered how it will affect their long-term development. But has research focused so heavily on the negative outcomes associated with video games that we’ve neglected to see the positive?

A recent article in the Journal of Adolescent Research caught my attention. It showed:

• Video games are the fastest growing type of entertainment in the world.
• 97% of U.S. adolescents play video games.
• Most young people ages 8-18 play video games an average of 13.2 hours per week.

I’m sure these figures are not shocking to the companies who develop and market video games to kids. But quite honestly, I was caught by surprise. Even more unexpected, the article challenged me to question my negative bias about video games.

Can Video Games Have Positive Outcomes for Kids?

Most of us are aware that violent video games can trigger young people to transfer feelings of aggression to actions in the real world. Public scrutiny of violent video games increased significantly following the tragic events at Columbine High School in 1999 and Virginia Tech in 2007. It is sure to spur even more debate as the senseless shootings of children in Newtown, Connecticut are thoroughly investigated.

Perhaps as a response to these violent incidents, the negative effects of video games, including aggression, hostility, and addiction, has now been examined in more than 300 studies. But the positive effects of non-educational video games, including the development of initiative, intrinsic motivation, and cooperation, has been examined in only 30 studies!

Do we developmental and social psychologists have a bias in what we study? Of course we do!

So what do current studies really show?

Yes, there are incidents where socially isolated, mentally unstable teens have committed acts of violence based on video games. But while the violent video games that are very popular among teen boys have been shown to increase aggression in some studies, other studies have failed to find the same correlation.

One study found that compared to teens that did not play video games, video game players reported more family closeness, higher involvement in activities, greater attachment to school, and positive mental health.

Another study found that video games with content that promoted helping behaviors, sharing, cooperation, and empathy actually contributed to the development of those same traits in young teens.

Video Games as an Initiative-Building Activity

One of my personal interests in youth development research has been in the area of how young people develop initiative. In my article, Route to Happiness: Fostering Initiative in Children and Adolescents, I outline the important elements of initiative-building activities during childhood and adolescence.

Could playing video games help promote a child’s development of initiative? Indeed, video games have some promise. For example, when kids play video games, they display intrinsic motivation. They are excited and find challenge in the process. When playing with friends, video games even show social benefits.

While the activity is not anchored in the “real world,” video games contain rules and challenges that may transfer to other parts of life. In addition, the concentration and effort required to play video games can be a practice ground for other activities that stimulate kid’s passions.

One of the key elements of initiative is the ability to sustain an activity over a period of time so that kids learn to persevere despite challenges.  Clearly, if you’ve been around children and video games, you know it teaches them to try and try again!

Choosing Video Games: Three Tips for Adults

Clearly, there is more research needed on the positive and negative effects of video games for kids. But I’m more encouraged that video games are showing some promising qualities that will help kids develop attributes like initiative, motivation, and other important behaviors. I still have lots of concerns and questions about violent video games, as the research is a mixed bag.

In considering which games to give your kids, here are three tips to keep in mind.

1. Know Your Child. It goes without saying, that the more we know our kids or grandkids, the more likely we’ll choose appropriate video games for them. If a child feels isolated, with few friends, do not allow them to indulge in violent video games. However, if a child seems mentally healthy, violent video games may also have positive aspects, like developing initiative, or even cooperation. Look for games with characters that display heroic qualities and strengths and positive messages like teamwork, concentration, and perseverance.

2. Review Video Games Before Purchasing. Before you buy, review the video games you give to your kids. Common Sense Media has a special section for video game reviews where parents can go to read about games their kids have requested or to research games they think would be most suitable for specific children. Ratings include a score for positive images, positive role models, and violence, among others.

3. Talk with Your Child About Video Games. Show interest in the video games your children play. Watch them all the way through! Talk about the strengths and weaknesses that various characters display. Help them transfer their knowledge of those characteristics to the real world. By all means, talk with your kids about online safety, particularly if they are playing video games with strangers on the web. And most importantly, discuss violence in the media and the differences between games and the real world.

4. If You Become Concerned. If you child shows abnormal signs of aggression, begins to withdraw from friendships, or is addicted to playing video games more than the average kid, make sure you consult a mental health professional for advice and/or treatment for your child.

References

Adachi, P. J. C., & Willoughby, T. (2012). Do video games promote positive youth development? Journal of Adolescent Research. doi: 10.1177/0743558412464522

Durkin, K., & Barber, B. (2002). Not so doomed: Computer game play and positive adolescent development. Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 373-392. doi:10.1016/S0193-3973(02)00124-7

Ferguson, C. J., & Rueda, S. M. (2010). The hitman study: Violent video game exposure effects on aggressive behavior, hostile feelings, and depression. European Psychologist, 15, 99-108. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000010

Gentile, D. A. (2009). Pathological video-game use among youth ages 8 to 18: A national study. Psychological Science, 20, 594-602. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02340.x

Images Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Bill is not the typical reader of my blog. And when he began his letter with, “Your website inspired me to send you a first draft of one of my short stories…,” I immediately wondered if this was one of many requests I receive from people who want me to help market their work.

But I was dead wrong.

What Bill wanted was to share a message about the important role of teachers – a message of how childhood teachers and role models influence us throughout our lives. “After 82 years,” he said, “I speak with a little experience to back this up!”

“Our minds are beautiful instruments,” Bill wrote. “I wanted you to see how the work you are dedicated to can deliver results that few would ever imagine.”

Bill had written and charmingly illustrated a children’s story about a hippopotamus. He sent me his story, complete with several original drawings, including this one of the main character.

 But the real story was about how he perceived the immeasurable and enduring role of teachers – how a Seattle librarian in 1939 helped kids like Bill discover the creative genius inside themselves.

Seventy-three years later, Bill remembers Miss Winnerblad’s influence on his life — how she helped him find pleasure in books and nurtured his creativity and humor. “Even though I was never a good student,” Bill admitted, “I became a professional artist, designer, inventor, and author.”

Bill claims his success in life was greatly influenced by Miss Winnerblad. And now, following the death of his wife of 45 years, Bill realizes how his painting and writing helps him through the pain of grief. He inches forward by using his creative mind.

“What I am learning,” Bill said, “is how creating art helps the brain heal its wounds. I am also learning that putting words together into text does much the same.”

How many teachers ever stop to ponder the life-long impact they have on children?

Yet, influencing lifelong learning is precisely the role of teachers. Children are more than simple readers of books and consumers of facts. They are constantly creating stories and knowledge within themselves that determine who they become as adults.

Can the role of teachers and the value they bring to a child’s learning process be measured by test scores? No.

Their value is measured qualitatively, through the challenges and obstacles their students overcome in a lifetime. It is measured in our abilities to move life forward in purposeful directions and to believe in ourselves – no matter what.

Bill’s story would not have been the same without the inspiration of Miss Winnerblad. Is there a teacher in your life who inspired you to become your best self, who helped you continue to learn throughout your lifetime?

For me, it was Miss Cabot, my sixth grade teacher. She nurtured my curiosity. She made me realize that the question was more important than the answer – the journey more important than the final chapter. I did my first research paper for Miss Cabot. And in some form, I’ve been a researcher ever since!

The greatest role of teachers has always been and will continue to be their ability to guide, facilitate, and inspire learning.

And learning is something we never stop doing, at any age.

Thanks, Bill, for reminding all those committed to developing young people’s internal strengths that it is indeed a most worthwhile investment of time, energy, and love.

Artwork used by permission of Bill Mash; Photo Credit: George Eastman House